Conference 'Reducing the need for antibiotics'The contribution of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

The first conferencewhere this innovative approach to tackle the AMR problem was presented.

European One Health action plan against AMR

One of the key objectives of the European One Health action planagainst AMR is to boost research, development and innovation by closing current knowledge gaps, providing novel solutions and tools to prevent and treat infectious diseases.

The use of effective and safe non-antibiotic treatments of infections is one of the strategies to support the appropriate use of antibiotics. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practices prescribe non-antibiotic treatment strategies, aiming at strengthening humans' and animals' resilience to infections. This is therefore likely to contribute to the reduction of antibiotic prescription and use.

A European research team

At the conference, a team of researchers from several European universities presented the available evidence supporting the CAM contribution. Topics that were presented and discussed included:

Antibiotic prescription rates in conventional and CAM General Practitioner practices

Safe and effective CAM treatment strategies for respiratory tract infections and other infections.

Decision aids and information leaflets for health professionals and patients in primary care, enabling the larger community of health professionals to make use of therapeutic options from the field of CAM.